Cubs can count 5 ways it got away

The turning point of the Cubs' season occurred when the angry relief pitcher flipped off the manager in the bullpen, causing a storm of controversy that reverberated for days.

The strange thing was that no Cubs were involved in the incident. It was St. Louis reliever Steve Kline doing the flipping, and Cardinals manager Tony La Russa flipping out after learning about the gesture in his postgame news conference.

It happened during the June 23 game at Busch Stadium when Kline became enraged over La Russa's decision not to call on him during a six-run sixth inning in which the Cubs took a 9-5 lead. With a victory, the Cubs would have tied St. Louis for first-place.

But the Cubs' bullpen failed, Michael Barrett and Kent Mercker were ejected and the Cardinals won 10-9 to take a two-game lead. They built that lead to eight games by July 10 and ran away with the NL Central.

The Cardinals were mentally tough enough to shrug off the Kline controversy, but the Cubs couldn't get the umpires, broadcasters and booing out of their heads. Here are the five worst things to happen on the Cubs' 2004 road to nowhere:

1. Mark Prior's pain

In a season full of crippling injuries, Prior's was the first and the most significant. Though it was his Achilles' tendinitis the Cubs publicly fretted about, his elbow pain was what they privately feared the most. The Cubs' coaching staff made a wise decision to keep Prior's pitch count down to prevent any further elbow problems, but that didn't stop Prior from complaining after some starts that he could have stayed in longer.

Prior showed he was completely back to form in his final start of the season, striking out 16 and allowing only three hits in a crucial game the Cubs lost 2-1 to Cincinnati in 12 innings.

The 2004 season was a learning experience for Prior, and he didn't always handle it well when things went poorly. Then again, he's only 24. Kids grow up, sooner or later.

This was a game the Cubs had to win, but Hawkins served up a game-tying three-run home run to the Mets' Victor Diaz with two outs and two strikes in the ninth Sept. 25 at Shea Stadium and Mercker gave up the game-winning homer in the 11th.

This devastating loss had a domino effect on the rest of the season--the Cubs lost six of their next seven games--and on Hawkins' fragile psyche as well.

Hawkins wound up blowing another two-out, two-strike save against the Reds on Wednesday, sinking the Cubs' chances. The lack of a consistent closer in '04 proved how valuable Joe Borowski really was last year.

3. Sosa's sneeze and hop

The Cubs' slugger drifted away after the season-altering sneeze in San Diego that led to back spasms and a month on the disabled list. Sosa never recovered, mentally or physically, eventually forcing Baker to drop him to No. 6 in the lineup.

Aloof and distant after returning from his injury, Sosa compounded his problems with an ill-timed bunny hop on a base hit off the top of the right field wall in Pittsburgh Sept. 22. He was thrown out at second after jogging out of the batters' box.

Instead of acknowledging his mistake, Sosa lashed back at reporters for criticizing him and vowing never to change his style. Stubborn to the end, Sosa often was his own worst enemy.

4. Hurricane Frances

The Cubs couldn't use this as an excuse, but the timing couldn't have been worse. The hurricane that postponed an early-September series in Florida ultimately forced them to play 26 games in the final 24 days, a back-breaker.

The late-season slumps of Corey Patterson, Derrek Lee and Michael Barrett can be traced to their getting little or no rest down the stretch. Fans don't want to believe that athletes are human and, like anyone else, are prone to fatigue from overwork and travel-related stress. Like the '69 Cubs, the '04 version was a victim of burnout.

5. Lack of focus

The Cubs worried too much about things they could not control--bad calls by umpires, second-guessing from the broadcasters and media scrutiny. Instead of having fun, they were uptight, in your face and sometimes out of control.

Baseball is their business, but it's also a game.

The volume of attention seemed to smother them from the start. They couldn't find a way to relax in their cramped quarters in the Wrigley Field clubhouse, even after having TV cameras banned after the All-Star break.